Richard's Path
by FenixZeal
Summary: More insight on what happened to Bravo team in RE: Rebirth as seen through the eyes of Richard. *Will have alternate ending if I get enough reviews*... rated for mild language and mild violence. My first 'finished' fan fic. R&R please!
1. Enter the Survival Horror

Disclaimer: HEY ALRIGHT! I don´t own Resident Evil or any of these characters. I am, however, currently bidding on your soul on eBay. How´s that for creepy?   
  
Chapter 1: Enter the Survival Horror   


Ed brought the helicopter down to an opening in the woods. We had seen what seemed to be a mansion before our descent. Captain Marini ordered us to investigate the area surrounding the landing site. There was nothing of any interest. We had no idea what we were looking for in the first place. The victims that were found in the area in the past weeks had supposedly been eaten. Kenneth suspected a bear, or maybe even coyotes. I wasn´t ready to assume anything.

The hot July air was taking its toll as the sun began to set over the Arklay Mountain horizon. We had been searching the forest nearly all day. Enrico suggested that we split up to cover more ground. Rebecca didn´t agree. _She should be ready as a field medic, but we can´t be too hard on her. It is her first time on assignment, and she is only eighteen. She seems to like company. _

We finally decided to check out the mansion we had seen while we were in the air. Ed stayed behind to watch the helicopter and keep in contact with the other S.T.A.R.S. members at the station. As we headed toward the mansion, Enrico seemed edgy. He didn´t stop mumbling something with Kenneth. All I heard was Redfield, Wesker, and Burton. Forest and I just looked ahead, anticipating that someone would open the mansion door and invite us in. No such luck.

The front door was locked. There were some windows that we could have broken, but it was obviously a residence and we didn´t want a lawsuit on our hands. We split up to look around for another door. Kenneth followed Enrico. Rebecca decided to stick with me and Forest. _She´s a little annoying at times but she always means well. _Forest and I kept her in good spirits by joking around.

We walked around the side of the house and found a tall steel fence enclosing a small courtyard. There was a door leading inside on the other side of the fence, but again, we didn´t want a lawsuit. Eleven o´clock approached and I received a call on the radio from Kenneth.

"We just got fed up and picked the lock on the front door," he told me. "We were in the main hall a minute ago. It´s pretty big inside and there doesn´t seem to be anyone around. Enrico and I split up from the hall. I´m in what seems to be a medical room. Anyway, I just heard something outside. It´s probably Enrico. See you inside."

"Ken never was one to wait," Forest said with a smile. My radio went off again. It was Ed. He started screaming. We could hear him struggling with something inside the helicopter. It sounded like a pack of dogs were attacking. Ed let out a final cry. It was followed quickly by a ripping sound.

"Oh my God," Rebecca squeaked. I didn´t want to lose hope yet.

"Ed, are you there? Dewey, respond, damn it!" I shouted.

"Richard, forget it," Forest said as he moved his hand from Rebecca´s shoulder to mine. "It´s obviously too dangerous out here. Let´s get inside."

We started to sprint to the front of the house. I noticed something moving in the brush, but before I could let out a warning, a dog jumped out and onto Forest. Before he could react it bit his arm and clawed at his chest. I pulled out my assault rifle and shot it once in the head. The shot pushed the dog off Forest and to the ground.

On closer inspection, we noticed the dogs skin and flesh was rotting away, revealing muscle tissue and bone. Its eyes were a milky white. Rebecca cringed and looked away.

"What is that thing?" she asked.

"This is messed up," Forest groaned as I helped him to his feet.

"Forest, your wounds!" Rebecca shouted. He was hurt badly. The dog was strong enough to scratch through a good few layers of his skin. "Here, let me put a bandage on you or something." Rebecca was about to prepare some first aid, but a growl had drawn our attention to the front door. In front of it was a pack of those hell hounds that attacked Forest. We obviously couldn´t get in that way.

"No time for the bandage now, Rebecca!" I shouted. Helping Forest a little, Rebecca turned back the way we came and took off. I managed to get a shot in on one or two of the dogs before I started running myself. We could hear the other dogs close behind us.

We had little chance of escape. From our earlier investigation we had discovered that the back of the mansion was surrounded by large stone walls. If we tried to escape in Raccoon Forest, we would lose contact with our team members and would eventually be caught anyway. I was out of ideas.

"The fence!" Rebecca shouted. Without another word she and Forest jumped and made their way over the steel fence. Just as I swung myself over it, one of the dogs leapt and nearly grabbed onto my ankle.

We ran for the door, hoping it would be unlocked. Luckily enough, it was. We rushed inside. There are only three of us left now: Forest, Rebecca, and myself. We don´t know where Captain Marini and Kenneth are.


	2. In The Darkness Lies Your Fears

Disclaimer: I don´t own RE, yadda yadda yadda...your soul is currently worth 7 cents.   
  
Chapter 2: In the Darkness Lies Your Fears   


The inside of the mansion was surprisingly small. Granted, it was only one room, or a hall, but it was small. To both our left and right were doors. Straight ahead and around the corner, the hall continued. We weren´t sure of what to do.

"I say the door on the right," groaned Forest, clutching his wounds that freaky dog had given him. Rebecca opened the door.

"Just a bathroom. The bathtub is filled with dirty water, but the water in the sink is good. Forest, come here; let me treat your wounds." Rebecca proceeded to turn on the water in the faucet. I looked around a little. I discovered that the door we came in through was locked on the inside, and there was no key nearby to unlock it.

When Forest was all patched up, we decided to check out the other door across from the bathroom. It led us down a long hall and around a corner down the rest of the hall. It was clearly the corner of the house. We could hear the dogs outside through the windows. Forest had left a pistol magazine on the floor, saying it was in case anyone else found it and needed to get out of a jam. I could see the logic behind it, but I thought it was useless.

At the end of the hall was another door. It was unlocked but I was weary about going through. By listening closely, we could hear a faint groaning noise. Without hesitation, Rebecca opened the door and ran in.

"Rebecca, wait!" I shouted. She began screaming. Standing in front of us was what looked to be a man. It was tall, had brown hair and wore a semi-casual suit. But past all of that, it was a monster. Like the dog, its skin rotted, and its eyes were a milky white.

The creature began to reach out like it was trying to grab Rebecca. I lifted my rifle and shot at it. The thing fell to the floor with a thud. Rebecca ran to Forest for protection.

"I thought that it might have been Enrico or Kenneth," she said crying. "Why is this happening?" I looked around and saw that we were in some kind of art gallery. There were paintings on the walls and in the middle of the room stood a statue of a women drawing water. I saw what looked like a piece of paper in the bowl she carried, but my train of thought was interrupted when the creature on the floor began to moan again.

"Oh shit!" Forest yelled. I looked up and noticed two large doors.

"This way!" I yelled motioning to the door. We ran out of the room and closed the doors behind us. Forest and I held them in case that thing tried to get through.

"We´re in the main hall, guys," Rebecca whispered. Sure enough, we had found ourselves in a large room with several doors, upstairs and down. We had no time to admire the interior design, though. The monster began pushing against the doors.

"Forget this! Let´s get upstairs!" Forest shouted. Without a second thought, the three of us ran upstairs. My radio started acting up.

"Attention Bravo team, this is Jill. We´ve found your helicopter and Edward. If there is anyone out there please respond."

"Jill, it´s Richard! Damn, I´m glad to hear your voice. Jill?" I tried to respond but the radio was busted. It must have broken when I jumped over the fence outside.

"Great," Forest said sarcastically. "Now how the hell are we getting out of here?"

"Bravo team," Jill continued over the radio, "we´ll continue our search. Hang in there, guys."

"We have to make contact with them," I said. We noticed two open doors on the second floor.

"Time to split up," Forest suggested.

"No, I don´t want to," Rebecca protested.

"Don´t worry. You stay with Richard. I´ll go check the door at the far end of the room. It looks like the balcony. I need a little fresh air anyway. I´m feeling lightheaded." Forest put his hand on Rebecca´s shoulder to be assuring.

"Well, okay. But what if there´s trouble?" she asked.

"I have a grenade launcher. I don´t think there´ll be any trouble," Forest said with a laugh. "So let´s get going." Forest left us standing in front of our route. He passed through the doorway and shut the door behind him.

"Let´s go," I said to Rebecca. We entered the dark hall and immediately noticed that the door locked behind us. I wouldn´t doubt if Forest had the same trouble. We looked at each other as if to blame the other, but it wasn´t important. Another of the creatures was staring at us from the end of the hall. It began to walk toward us, arms out like a zombie. I noticed another open door to our right, between us and the monster. I grabbed Rebecca by the arm and ran for the door. The zombie seemed to speed up a little, so when we got in the next room, I slammed the door shut. We made it just in time, closing the door on the creatures fingers, which fell off from the pressure.

The next room was another short hallway, with a pillar breaking the corner into another small corner. Looking around the corner, there was another open door leading to a small stairway and yet another open door.

"This time, no closing," Rebecca sneered. I moved on ahead, careful not to run into any unwanted surprises. The door at the top of the stairs opened into a room that seemed like an attic.

"You better wait here," I told Rebecca.

"Okay. Richard, be careful." She was afraid. I could tell.

Making my way into the musky room, I could see cobwebs covering almost everything. No spiders though. Something caught my eye on a dusty crate at the far end of the attic. It looked like some kind of mask. It probably meant nothing, but I decided it would be best to check it out. Then I heard hissing.


	3. Fear Can't Kill You. But...

Disclaimer: Don´t...own...Evil...itchy.   
  
Chapter 3: Fear Can´t Kill You. But...   


The hissing seemed to be coming from inside the walls. I could see a large gap in one of the walls near the ceiling. I could hear the hissing better if I faced the gap. I wasn´t ready to climb any of the crates scattered around the room to get a better look in the hole. I would usually let Kenneth have those honors, but I was alone in the room, and I´m sure Rebecca wouldn´t sub for Ken.

Gritting my teeth, I climbed a shelf that was against the wall. I looked down into the dark crawl space. I saw a faint green glow not far away. It looked like two eyes staring back at me. They were eyes! I gasped in surprise and saw that the hole seemed like it was moving. I was frozen with fear. The eyes began to rise and move back. I jumped down just in time to avoid the huge thing lunging toward me.

When I hit the floor, my foot got caught in a broken floor board, causing me to fall to the ground. My automatic fell out of reach. When I turned to free my foot, I saw the thing that tried to attack me, sitting still. Its long, scaly body was as thick as the trunk of an oak tree. It lifted its green body, revealing its light underside. When it reared its head back and opened its mouth to flash its long fangs, I recognized it was some kind of snake.

I watched as the fangs of the giant snake completely stretched out, almost to the length of my arm. Its tongue slithered in its mouth. Again, I froze. I finally snapped into it as the thing lunged for me. I reached out for my shotgun, but I wasn´t fast enough. The snake drove its fangs into my arm. The pain of my skin being pierced was followed by a quick flow of liquid into my arm. It must have been poison.

"Richard, what´s going on up there?" Rebecca shouted. I could hear her coming up the stairs and stopping at the doorway. "Oh my God! Richard!"

"The gun!" I shouted in agony. Rebecca ran for my shotgun which just out of my reach. The snake let go of me, preparing to attack her. The only thought that rushed into my head was that I hoped this girl could use a gun. Rebecca had already picked it up off the floor. She took aim and shot.

The snake let out some kind of roar as the shell hit near the head. The creature then retreated back into its hiding spot. Rebecca helped me up and we left the attic, closing the door behind us. I could barely walk, so Rebecca practically had to drag me into the next hall. She closed the door behind us and laid me and my gun down against the door.

"Richard, are you okay?"

"I think I´m poisoned," I said, feeling a sharp pain run up my side.

"Damn it! I don´t have any serum," Rebecca replied. I was ready to faint, but I remembered that Kenneth had told us he had found a medical room over the radio.

"The medical room. Kenneth said...he found a medical room." I could feel the poison moving through my body, slowly.

"Of course!" Rebecca exclaimed. "Richard, hang in there I´ll be right back." Rebecca ran around the corner and opened the door. The next thing I heard was her screaming, and the moaning of the zombie that we had left in that room.

"Rebecca..." I tried to call to her. The poison had continued to spread. Unable to get up and help Rebecca, I passed out.

I woke up to the sound of gun shots. I didn´t know how long I was out, but I could still feel the poison in my system. The firing stopped and I heard the door around the corner being unlocked, then opened. With all my remaining strength, I stood up and walked down the hall. Halfway to the corner my head started throbbing and I stumbled, falling into the wall and onto the floor.

"Richard!" someone shouted. At first I was delirious from the poison, but then I recognized the voice.

"Jill," I called back weakly. She came running over and knelt down next to me. 

"Richard, what happened?" She was calm, but sounded upset. Then, she noticed the snake bite. "You´re wounded!" I didn´t want her to see me like this. She didn´t need it on her hands. I tried to bear the pain and stay calm.

"This whole place is a killing zone," I told her. "There are monsters..."

"Richard that doesn´t matter right now," she interrupted. "Wh...what did this to you?"

"A b-big s-snake," I replied, realizing I sounded a little crazy. Jill just stared at me with a look of panic on her face. "It h-had to be p-poisonous," I stammered.

"Poisonous?!" she asked. I didn´t know if it was the poison affecting my eyes, but it looked like she was shaking.

"Th-there´s a m-medical r-room. I d-don´t know where it is..." My head started to pound.

"Don´t worry. I´ll go see what I can find," Jill said in a hurry as she stood up and ran for the door. Before she left she turned around. "You´re gonna make it," she said warmly, then left.


	4. Fight Your Fears and Survive

Disclaimer: Well...it´s done...I lost your soul, I´m sorry to say. Now I own nothing but this story. But it sucks because I don´t own anyone in the story. So I have basically nothing. It´s been a pleasure. Have a nice afterlife.   
  
Chapter 4: Fight Your Fears and Survive   


_I feel like it´s been an eternity since Jill went to find the medical room. The snake´s poison is starting to affect my nervous system. I´m twitching uncontrollably. My vision is leaving me. I´m worried Jill is hurt. I don´t want to lose her the way I lost Rebecca. I don´t want to lose Jill. Where the hell is Forest? I have to keep thinking or I might lose my mind._

_Why am I here? Why is this happening to me? To us? I can hear footsteps in the hall outside. Someone is running. The door is opening._

"I´m here, Richard." It was Jill. "I´m gonna give you shot. Hang in there, okay?" I could see that she was preparing something. It wouldn´t matter. I´m not going to make it. I reached for my radio.

"Jill, here." I handed the radio to her. "Take it. Get out of here. I´m not..." I felt the needle enter my left arm where the snake had bitten me. "Augh." Jill looked at my face. "Does it ever not hurt?" A smile crept upon her face, and I passed out.

When I woke up, Jill was sitting next to me. She saw that my eyes were opening and helped me sit up.

"Richard?" she said, putting her hand on my wounded arm.

"I´m okay. The others," I moaned.

"Richard, I found Forest," Jill said. She lowered her head. "I thought he was dead, but he turned into one of those things."

"Did you...?" I didn´t know how to say it. But she knew what I meant.

"I had to. There was nothing else I could do."

"Have you seen Rebecca?" I asked.

"No. Sorry. Barry is investigating the rest of the house. Maybe he´ll find her." As nice as the thought was, I couldn´t imagine that she was still alive.

"Any more bad news?" I asked.

"Kenneth is gone. One of those zombies killed him. Brad abandoned us in the chopper."

"It couldn´t get any worse."

"We don´t know where Enrico is. Or Wesker. We haven´t known where Chris is since we got into the mansion." Jill lowered her head again.

"Oh...don´t worry. Chris can hold his own," I said with a smile. "But shouldn´t you go look for him anyway?"

"I think he´s okay. Besides, I´m gonna stay here until you´re good to walk." Jill smiled at me, I guess trying to make me feel better about my current situation. We were both silent for a little while. Then Jill spoke.

"So you said a big snake did this to you?"

"Yeah. I know it sounds crazy..."

"Richard, nothing has really been normal in this place. I´ve seen some pretty strange things already," she said, furrowing her eyebrows. "I was almost killed by a plant´s vines when I was trying to get some kind of mask."

"A mask?" I asked, remembering the mask I had seen in the attic.

"Yeah. It´s gray and it´s missing some features."

"I saw one just like that in the attic before the snake attacked me." Jill looked puzzled. 

"I found two others being block by some kind of traps. The puzzles were easy, but still...it was like they were being guarded," she explained.

"The snake must have been put there to guard the mask, just like the traps and the vines." I was beginning to wonder if these things happening in the mansion were actually ´organic accidents.´

"Richard, do me a favor. Stay here; I´m going to the attic to get that mask."

"Jill, no," I protested. I didn´t want her to get hurt.

"I have plenty of ammo, I´ll be fine," she argued.

"If you go I´m going with you." She stared at me for a moment.

"No, you´re not healthy enough. I´ll be right back I promise." Before I could say anything else, she left, closing the door behind her. I heard the attic door open. Time passed so slowly. I stood up as best I could to prepare myself, just in case. I heard the snake´s body rubbing roughly against the wooden floor boards. I could barely make out the hissing. I heard Jill´s pistol firing a few times. The shots stopped, she must have been reloading. She must have paused for too long, because the next thing I heard was her scream.

"Jill!" I yelled. As fast as possible, I picked up my shotgun and ran through the two doors in my path and into the attic. Jill was lying on the floor in front of me, knocked back with a small cut on her arm. "Time for a little pay back," I said.

Jill stood up and we both began firing at the snake. It screeched and moaned a few times, then fell to the floor.

"We did it!" Jill exclaimed as she hugged me. "Thanks, Richard. I knew you´d have my back. Even when I told you to stay behind." We both smiled. Jill was distracted celebrating our victory by holding my arm and telling me how much she appreciated me being there, but out of the corner of my eye I noticed the green glow of the snake´s eyes slowly brighten.

The body began slithering silently. It quickly picked up speed and lunged at Jill.

"Jill!" I shouted trying to warn her. Suddenly everything felt as is it were moving half as fast as it should be. I stepped towards Jill and dove, pushing her out of the way. The snake grabbed me in it´s mouth, head first.

"Richard!" _I can hear Jill shout. I´m screaming. It´s all I can do. Why are we here? Why is this happening to us? Is Jill okay? God, Jill, don´t die..._

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Hope you enjoyed it...R&R please. I´ll be writing an alternate ending, but I don´t know if I´m gonna post it. Adiosness.

  
  


FenixZeal


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